NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega 2017 Results: Aric Almirola Scores Wild Win

In a race that featured multiple big crashes and lead changes, Aric Almirola prevailed to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.

The victory marked Almirola's first of the season, as he held off strong challenges by Elliott Sadler and Joey Logano:

Position	Driver	Car No.
1	Aric Almirola	98
2	Elliott Sadler	1
3	Joey Logano	22
4	Ben Kennedy	2
5	Erik Jones	20
6	Matt Tifft	19
7	Michael Annett	5
8	Justin Allgaier	7
9	Daniel Suarez	18
10	Jeff Green	8

Almirola was one of 14 different drivers to lead a lap in the race.

Sadler entered the race atop the point standings, and while his second-place finish kept him there, Justin Allgaier closed the gap a bit by winning the second stage:

Position	Driver	Points	Behind Leader	Wins
1	Elliott Sadler	330	Leader	0
2	Justin Allgaier	301	-29	1
3	William Byron	252	-78	0
4	Darrell Wallace Jr.	235	-95	0
5	Daniel Hemric	229	-101	0
6	Michael Annett	224	-106	0
7	Matt Tifft	216	-114	0
8	Ryan Reed	206	-124	1
9	Blake Koch	202	-128	0
10	Brennan Poole	193	-137	0
11	Dakoda Armstrong	174	-156	0
12	Cole Custer	165	-165	0

Talladega is best known for producing multicar wrecks that racing fans affectionately refer to as "the big one."

It didn't take long for that to transpire Saturday, as nine cars got swept up in an accident on Lap 20.

As seen in this video courtesy of Fox Sports, Brennan Poole got into the side of reigning Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez, which set off a chain reaction:

The crash resulted in a red flag that halted the field, but once racing resumed, Almirola managed to win the first stage.

Much of the second stage was smooth sailing until the final lap when eight more cars were the victim of another race-altering wreck.

Ryan Reed was knocked off-kilter by Almirola, which resulted in him caroming off Brendan Gaughan and swallowing up several other cars:

Both Reed and Gaughan were knocked out of the race, as was pole-sitter Blake Koch.

Reed's place in the playoffs is secure due to his win at Daytona, but he expressed frustration with Almirola after the incident, according to Fox Sports: NASCAR:

Amid the chaos, Allgaier won stage No. 2 and once again established himself as a threat to win after falling just short despite leading 157 laps last week at Richmond.

Allgaier led a four-car pack that included Erik Jones, Michael Annett and Sadler in the closing laps, but a caution came out for debris with just 16 laps remaining.

That bunched the field back up; however, Allgaier maintained his lead after the restart thanks to a strong push by his JR Motorsports teammate in Sadler.

Logano was pushed past Allgaier a few laps later by Almirola before trading the lead with Jones on a couple of occasions.

Almirola then made his move to the lead on Lap 110 and never relinquished it despite several challengers being all over his bumper:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was among those who congratulated the Cup Series regular on his third career Xfinity Series win:

Almirola has had an up-and-down Cup Series season thus far, as he sits 19th in the standings with one top-five result and two top-10 finishes to his credit.

The 33-year-old has enjoyed some success at superspeedways during his career, though, with his lone Cup Series win coming at Daytona.

Saturday's win should provide Almirola with a great deal of momentum and confidence ahead of Sunday's Cup Series race where he will look to win and cement his place in the playoffs for the first time since 2014.